The witch in history was a very different creature from the characters in Harry Potter, or from modern-day Pagans, for that matter. Lois Martin sets out to explore the historical background to the European and early North American witchcraft phenomenon. In particular, she focuses on the ideological, cultural, and legal concepts that led to the carnage of the witch craze in the 16th and 17th centuries, which may have claimed some 40,000 victims.